


Stay Within The Lines.

by furystarcat



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gangsters, AsaNoya - Freeform, F/F, Gangs, Illustrations, KageHina - Freeform, KuroKen - Freeform, M/M, daisuga - Freeform, hinata and yachi are as clueless as ever, iwaoi - Freeform, kageyama is an overprotective butt, kiyoko is a goddess, mafia, oh yeah there's some artwork and stuff in the story, pretty much everyone is gay, suga and daichi have the most precious relationship, tsukki wears a magestic kimono, ushijima is a jerk, what a family, yamatsukki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-11
Updated: 2015-08-22
Packaged: 2018-03-10 18:00:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3298931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/furystarcat/pseuds/furystarcat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What would happen if a community had various gangs for its foundation? What if those gangs decided they wanted a little more territory? Hinata Shouyou is what one might call an innocent bystander. Unbeknownst to him that many of his fellow classmates are not so innocent. Nevertheless, when a struggle for power among dangerous organizations occur, everybody gets sucked in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Careless Coloring

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! I hope you enjoy! It's a little rough starting out but I have big plans for this story!

The winter wasn't Hinata Shouyou's favorite time of year. The sting of the cold that bit at his skin every time he stepped outside was frankly, a real nuisance. Though it was tolerable, purple wool mittens hugged his fingers tightly and he kept his hands shoved inside the pockets of his pea coat.

At least he didn't have to sit on the metal frame of his bike anymore, having already locked it to the bike rack. Being out of breath in winter was the worst. Every time the air entered his lungs they screamed back in pain. Winter really was a lame season sometimes.

Hinata thudded quickly to the Gym entrance, sniffling all the way. Once inside he quickly turned on his heel and slammed the heavy doors shut in a effort to keep the cold beasts of wind out of his sanctuary.

"Nasty, isn't it?"

The good thing about persevering through the bitter weather was the smile, offered by a certain ash blonde, greeting him when he returns.

"Yeah! I really hope it warms up soon." Hinata starts shrugging off his layers, his pea coat and purple gloves, the matching scarf.

"Hinata!" Heavy footsteps and gruff voice approached him. "Please change in the club room."

The underclassmen stared baffled at his captain. "Eeehh?! But that's outside!"

"You should've gone there first."

He pouts.

"C'mon Hinata, as soon as you get back we can start practice"

The promise of getting a toss from Suga seemed to motivate him enough and he scrambled his warm armor back on before dashing to the club room.

Inside the clubroom it was more crowded than usual. Everyone had brought their winter gear and in a small room, despite having their own lockers, it took up a lot of space. At least Daichi made sure to keep it warm inside.

"You're just now getting here?" A voice grumbled across the room. Kageyama was just finishing changing and had slammed his locker in frustration. The Setter was normally grumpy but was even more so during the winter. Hinata guessed they shared a dislike for the cold.

"Yeah, Natsu was putting up a fight about wearing her wool coat. She says it's too itchy." The smaller boy started removing his own coat again and placing them haphazardly in his locker. He wanted to get changed and start practicing already, the morning practice was always too short and he had energy to burn.

Kageyama just grunted and turned towards the door. Hinata thought he was going to move along to the gym after telling him to hurry it up but he just stood by the door watching, back leaning against the wall.

"You should text me if you're going to be late"

Hinata stared at him in confusion. Kageyama had never cared if he was late before. "Why?"

The scary glare returned to his face. "Just do it, dumbass!"

The shout made Hinata jump and he turned back to his locker, quickly pulling out his volleyball jacket. "Geez! Fine!" What was his problem?

They walked to the gym together. Well, it was more a run to avoid potential frostbite.

Practice was mostly normal if not a little quiet. Hinata just figured everyone was still sleepy from the weekend and shrugged it off. Though he did notice shared glances between some of the team mates. Daichi nodded off to Kageyama as they entered the gym earlier as if sharing some silent approval and Suga would glance cautiously at Tsukishima from time to time. Tsukishima never joined the telepathic communication. It seemed like he was pointedly ignoring it all together.

It wasn't long till Daichi was telling them to quickly clean up and change for morning classes and the silence still remained.

Hinata snarled at the door leading outside, he really didn't want to go out there.

"How long are you just going to stand there?" Kageyama gave him a shove towards the exit. "Hurry it up, I want to get to class on time thanks"

"You don’t have to wait on me!" The shorter boy protested.

"Shut up and come on!" This time he grabbed his wrist and pulled him along to the club room. Was Kageyama really that insecure about being alone? He wasn't before, maybe some stuff was going on at home and he just needed someone to be around. Yeah, Hinata would cut him a break, that was probably it.

Hinata's shivering didn't stop till around twenty minutes into class. He glanced over at Yachi, a warm coffee cup cradled in her hands as she sipped at it leisurely. He was envious of that warmth even though he wasn't that big of a coffee drinker. It was too bitter for him. Hot chocolate clearly was the better choice.

She seemed to catch him staring. "Want a sip?"

"Ah, no thank you" He dismissed the offer with a wave of his hand.

She sat up when she spoke to him next. "You seem to be in thought"

"Huh? Oh, yeah Kageyama has been acting weird."

"Weird?"

"Yeah he's been following me around"

Yachi's brow furrowed thoughtfully. "He did drop you off at class didn't he.."

"Yeah and he said to wait for him for lunch and before practice" Hinata talked with his hands in wide gesture and Yachi took the opportunity to sip her coffee once more.

"Maybe he's just trying to be a good friend?"

"yeah maybe... He's so weird"

"Hey Shouyou!" At the sound of his name Hinata perked up and became attentive to another classmate.

"Did you hear about the gangs tagging things around school, marking territory. Everyone is in a fuss over it. You know Kenpachi from Class 2-B?"

The ginger shook his head no and waited for the other boy to continue.

"Well he lives down the road a little ways, in that dingy apartment complex. Anyways he said that yesterday someone tagged the building over there during the night. Every now and then some fancy cars come by to talk to some thugs that hang around the corner. Sounds wicked weird man."

Hinata frowned. The one good thing about living on the other side of the mountain is that the gang activity was next to nothing. He remembers Nishinoya talking about this stuff one time. There were several gangs across the country but there was five really influential ones that everyone knew about, The Tokyo Nekomatas, The Men of Mayhem, The Hanabira, The Proponents and The Impresarios. They controlled everything because of the amount of money they had, politics, the economy, education, law enforcement, everything. People knew not to get on their bad side.

Yachi leaned over towards Hinata. "Personally I've never encountered any of the gangs but I hear even some kids here are part of ones"

Their classmate stepped in. "Well that's because the school is under The Impresarios' territory and you live close by, right? They're the biggest and most respected within the sector."

Hinata was startled by the information. "You're saying that we're under gang protection?"

"Yeah, and it's probably the best one to have protecting you to be honest. They're not in the news much for criminal activity well... then again they may own the news now that I think about it."

"That's a scary thought" Yachi shivered and clutched her coffee tighter as if seeking comfort from it's caffeinated warmth.

"I wouldn't worry about it. The gangs on this side of the sector have always been kinda chill"

Hinata spoke up again. "What about the ones tagging the apartments? Are they part of The Im... impressy-what's-its?"

"Nah, it seems to be just some wannabees I think. Though Ken thinks they have ties to The Men of Mayhem. If that was true then.. yeah I'd be worried."

The ominous tone sent shivers up the gingers spine and he was wishing to be holding that coffee for warmth again. "How do you know so-"

"To your seats!" Their teacher opened the door and stomped to his podium, clearly not wanting to be there on a cold morning. He shuffled through his papers as students returned to their desks, Yachi included.

Hinata was a little disappointed that their conversation had to end. He would have liked to know more. He wondered what kind of people they were like, were they something out of an Italian mob movie with spiffy suits and flashy guns or were they a bunch of punks collaborating together, something like that anime, Durarara maybe? Nah, but that would've been cool.

He tapped his pen against his notebook absent-mindedly. Not that he ever really paid any attention in class. There was volleyball to think about and that was way more interesting. However this time, he couldn't get the intrigued of the gangs out of his head. If they all had territory, he wondered what group's jurisdiction did his home fall under. Maybe Kageyama would know. He then frowned at that thought. No, Kageyama was as much as an airhead as he was it's probably better ask Captain Daichi these things. He was sure Tsukishima would know something, he's pretty knowledgeable but Hinata didn't feel like being mocked for his lack of observation skills today.

His hand lazily dragged across the lined paper in an effort to look like he was taking notes. English really was one of his more difficult subjects and it's partly because he had no interest in it. The Teacher's voice morphed from words and into a mushed indistinguishable murmur that made Hinata's eyes heavy. He sighed, If only it was already practice.

He glanced at Yachi. She sat tall in her chair, eyes focused on the teacher. On her desk was her notebook, a stack of sticky notes and a collection of highlighters and pens. She really was incredible in academics and Hinata was quite envious of her attention skills. He looked back at his notes that contained broad phrases he heard spoken without any detail in messy hand writing.

His caramel eyes started to burn a little with sleepiness. Closing them for a little bit couldn't hurt, right?

"Oi! Get up!" Hinata was disturbed from his dozing by a rough hand and stern voice. "C'mon, we're having lunch"

The spiker groans and sits up to face Kageyama. "You could at least ask me out to lunch nicely"

"Shut up let's go"

"No I'm serious" He pouts at the taller boy and slouches in his chair as further defiance. Kageyama sighs and is silent for a while, staring at the ground. He inhales deeply before standing up tall as if steeling his nerves.

"Would you have lunch with me..... please"

A thrilled giggle erupted from the ginger at the grumpy setter's politeness. "Yeah okay" He collects his things digging a lunch out of his yellow messenger bag. Kageyama leads him to the door after nodding to... Kiyoko? Who just ignored the gesture and carried on with her conversation with Yachi. She must be asking her to lunch however it was strange to see a third-year come all the way here to ask someone to lunch. She would have to have gone past the gym and Kageyama's classroom to get there. Maybe they talked on their way to retrieve their respective first-years?

The boys walked outside in silence. They of course made a stop at the vending machine so Kageyama could buy his usual milk. They ate lunch on the steps outside the gym. Hinata kept glancing behind them pondering if he could convince the setter for some tosses before lunch period ended when a thought occurred to him.

"Hey, Kageyama, what do you know about the gangs?"

Kageyama didn't seem to expect such a questions because as soon as the words left his lips he was thrown into coughing fit having choked on his rice. He struggled with clearing his throat, banging his chest a few times and sipped at his drink. For a moment Hinata thought he was going to avoid the question because his eyes refused to make contact with his friend's.

"Wh-why?"

"Some people were talking about it in class. Seems an apartment complex got tagged recently?"

The setter cleared his throat again before answering. "Don't worry yourself about that kind of stuff it's nothing."

Hinata protested, setting his lunch aside and completely forgetting about it. "It didn't sound like nothing! My classmate said there's rumors that the tagging is related to this other gang Men of... Men of... Men of Melons or something like that."

"Men of Mayhem, dimwit" Kageyama took a final swig of milk, sucking it dry. "Don't worry about it, okay? It was take care of."

"Taken care of? What do you-"

"Don't worry about it!" He huffed and Hinata was stunned into silence by the outburst. "Beside a dumbass like you doesn't need to know these things." They started packing up their empty lunches and throwing away their trash, only a minute till the bell rang. No extra practice today. Kageyama

walked his shorter friend back to class just as Kiyoko left the classroom. However she didn't wait up to walk with Kageyama partway like Hinata thought she might. She did seem deep in thought.

Hinata took his seat and caught Yachi's attention. "How was Kiyoko?"

"Good. She seemed distracted. She said she wanted a 'breath of fresh air' so that's why she came to have lunch with me" Yachi seemed really pleasant when she spoke, practically bouncing in her seat with a wide grin. Her contagious smile infected Hinata as he sat up and smiled back.

"Did something happen?"

"She said she really enjoyed herself and that we should do it again!"

"Ah! That's really cool, Yachi!"

A smack resounded in the classrooms and everyone silenced. Their teacher really was in a sour mood today having beat his podium with a ruler to call attention. "Get out your books."

School seemed to carry on as per usual. Except right as Hinata was leaving for practice Kageyama was waiting for him outside his classroom so they'd walk together. Usually they'd both would be too excited about the idea of volleyball that they wouldn't waste time on the other and sometimes it would even turn into an all out race. This time, however, was a calm and violently shivering walk to the club room.

"As soon as I'm a famous volleyball player I'm gonna hire the smartest scientist in the world to delete winter" The ginger complained having finally arrived in the club room.

"You can't delete winter, idiot."

"I wasn't serious!" He jerked off his school shirt in exasperation. The taller boy seemed to be amused at his outburst and snickered.

Daichi begun practice as soon as he arrived running through the standard stretching then drills then individual skill practice and maybe some mock matches if they had time left over. They were halfway through working their hamstrings when an upsurge of energy occurred. It was the usual noisy second-years, Nishinoya and Tanaka, of course.

"Ehhh!? Daichi! Daichi, where's Kiyoko?! She always cheers us on!"

"Do you want us to go look for her!?"

The captain huffed in annoyance, the calm atmosphere didn't last long. "She felt a little ill so she went on home. Kinoshita and Narita left early as well."

"She's sick!?" They're outcry bounced against the walls.

"Get back to work!"

Hinata glanced at Yachi then, a frown formed on her pink lips at the news. Kiyoko didn’t mention feeling unwell at lunch according to her. He wondered what happened. Daichi dismissed their worries, directing their attention to practice and Sugawara would come around and pat grieving fanboys on their backs.

It wasn't long till Hinata was focused only on his training and his concerned thoughts about gangs, Kageyama and Kiyoko were pushed to the back of his mind and lost within the sound of sneakers squeaking against the wooden floors. God, did he love volleyball, the running around pulling at the muscles in his legs, the soaring to the top of the net, the addicting smack against his pam and the high of watching it abuse the floor on the other side before landing back on his feet. Not to mention the cold stopped bothering him once he started moving. It was exhilarating and any worries were always forgotten. Volleyball really was his sanctuary and he would respect it as such.

Having a friend like Kageyama who felt the same way about the sport and respected it just as much as he did was icing on the cake. Hinata always believed sanctuaries like these were meant to be shared. The rest of the team most likely thought the same, it was probably one of the reasons he loved them so much.

Hinata bounded off the court in good spirits to retrieve his water bottle, orange respectively. One thing he could appreciate about winter is that the water was always perfectly cold after a hard workout.

Frustrated mumbles drifted to the spiker's ears and he glanced at what seemed to be a somewhat heated discussion. Sugawara had pulled Tsukishima aside and Yamaguchi wasn't too far from his friend, enough to respect Suga's desire to solely speak to the tall blonde but obviously able to hear every word. Guess he couldn't help himself. Yamaguchi was turned away from them idly shifting from foot to foot and Tsukishima would glance at him periodically, obviously not falling for his feigned display of innocence and it didn't seem Suga really cared about being eavesdropped by the freckled server because he continued on with what he was saying.

He was trying to speak with a hushed voice but it was obvious with his tone that whatever they were talking about was urgent and Suga was deeply concerned about it. Having one of the third-years so frantic about something really put the ginger on edge. Well, maybe not Asahi, he was pretty much frantic about everything.

Tsukishima carried on with a bored expression but continued to listen to the ash blonde. At the end of his hurried whisper Tsukishima sighed at him. He seem to feel like the conversation was absolutely exhausting and he didn't want to carry it on much longer or else he'd fall into the floor. The blocker wasn't so concerned about keeping quiet as the other which frustrated Suga.

"I've only heard from Kuroo and he asked to form an alliance."

Suga started out reprimanding his blatant volume but once he heard his words he was stunned into question. "Wh-what? What did you say?"

"Rejected him of course, I'm not going to get involved in this mess."

Suga was silent and studied Tsukishima for a moment as if sizing up his explanation for the rejection. However the silence seem to tell that Sugawara was indecisive on the topic. "...Okay"

They dispersed after that. Sugawara walked relatively hastily to Daichi. He leaned in and whispered to him. All the whispering was really making Hinata uncomfortable now. Yamaguchi approached Tsukki with all smiles and they carried on a simple conversation as if nothing happened.

"Oi! What are you looking at?" Hinata nearly jumped out of his skin. He fumbled and almost fell on his posterior when turning to the setter.

"N-nothing!" Skeptical blue eyes narrowed down at him for his answer.

A loud clap quickly ended the questioning. Daichi poised himself in front of the team, Suga at his side. "Alright it's time to clean up and call it a day. Hinata and Kageyama you pick up the balls. Asahi and Noya, the net. Tanaka wipe down the floors. Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, water bottles, emptied and dried please."

When finished the captain started rounding up the sweaty towels with suga to take to the laundry and Hinata spotted Ennoshita wheeling out the ball cart to them. It wasn't too hard for Hinata to get his assigned chore done but dodging Tanaka running and screaming while mopping the gym floor as fast as he could was quite the task.

After the chores, the team darted out to the club room to change to reduce their time in the bitter wind. All except Tsukishima of course who carried on leisurely. With his cold personality Hinata wouldn't be surprised if the weirdo actually enjoyed winter.

This time, while he changed Hinata made sure to take as long as possible. He wanted to see just how adamant Kegeyama was about following him around now. A lot of the members had already moved along, Nishinoya departed after smacking his rear in teasing and when Hinata shouted protest he was already out the door with a humiliated Asahi and Tanaka was about to burst at the seems from laughter. Eventually Ennoshita offered a polite goodbye and Tsukishima and Yamaguchi left without a word. Tanaka left with a "so long, slowpokes" and "swaggered" out the door. It just made him look goofier, honestly. Though the underclassmen would never tell him that.

"What's with the stalling, Dumbass?" Kageyama growled by his locker.

"I-I'm not-"

"What are you two still doing here?" Daichi and Sugawara entered with two basketfuls of now dry and clean towels. They must of used their whole supply up already.

"We-"

"Go on and hurry it home, it's dangerous to be out this late and I'm locking up" Daichi retorted while shoving his basket on top of the lockers.

"y-yes sir!" Hinata closed his bag, which he was shuffling in pointlessly for fifteen minutes, threw on his coat and scarf and headed out the door. Kageyama, predictably, right on his heels. The shorter of the two could've sworn he heard an amused chuckle from Sugawara before they left.

Hinata unlocked his bike and walked it home, thinking getting on it and riding away would clearly be rude to Kageyama. They ducked down so their red noses were tucked into their scarves and hands were shoved into coat pockets making them look like hunched and crotchety old men.

Neither of them spoke a word for the majority of the walk. Maybe it was the cold and they didn't want to sacrifice their noses to the winter beast by lifting their heads from knitted protection in order to be heard. But curiosity plagued Hinata's mind and finally he gave in.

"Why are you following me around?"

There was a pause, Kageyama was collecting an answer, trying to think of the right thing to say but he gave a huff as if giving up. "Because it's dangerous for a wimp like you to be alone."

"Wimp! I've traveled just fine on my own all this time without you!"

"Not when the gangs were so active!" Kageyama snapped and surprised the ginger. "Look,,\ okay, I just... dammit, just let me do this, okay?" The setter didn't look at him but kept his dark eyes focused on the path in front of him, his brow was lowered in frustration. His voice almost sounded worn and desperate.

Hinata was quiet and in thought. It must be really important for Kageyama to invest so much and to sound so vulnerable. It couldn't hurt..

"...okay"

Kageyama let out a breath he was holding in. "Thank you."


	2. Everyone Could Use A Little Wite-Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daichi spoke with a stern and calm voice in reply. "Calm down , Kageyama . None of us want to drag him into this." 
> 
> Hinata's teeth ground with bitter irritation. How could they possibly talk about him behind his back like that?! How could the leave him out?! The boy stomped up to the door and pushed it open, a sour expression on his face. 
> 
> "Drag me into what?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! Sorry it took so long. School sure does get in the way.  
> I really hope you enojy this chapter! I included a new medium for one of the illustrations for the chapter so I hope you like that as well!

 Kiyoko didn’t show up the next day.  Daichi  told the team that their manager would be away for a few days with a cold and when someone offered to go check in on her he sternly turned them down.  Nishinoya  and Tanaka stopped asking after the first ‘no’ which surprised  Hinata . He thought the two would be going on all day begging  Daichi  for permission and her address to deliver get well goodies but as soon as the captain refused, there seemed to be some sort of recognition in the second-years and they quickly gave up.

Seriously, the whole team was really acting weird lately. Well, almost. Tsukishima’s no-care attitude was still intact.

The gym was tense throughout morning practice which really was a letdown for the ginger. The morning commute turned race with  Kageyama  had is blood pumping with energy yet the overwhelming haze of some sort of imminent doom that lingered in everyone’s mind was really grading on his patience and fun.  Hinata  never wished for practice to be over and it made his stomach twist in pain that he wished for it today. 

It didn’t seem as he was the only one in pain.  Kageyama  bit his lip in frustration the duration of all his tosses and Asahi’s heavy scowl sent chills to his bones. He never had seen the gentle giant make such expression and he was only release from the grimace when  Nishinoya  jabbed a small elbow into his side. Once the Libero got fed up with his unfocused playing and dark face he pulled him aside to talk. After that,  Daichi  excused Asahi because he “couldn’t get himself together”.  Hinata  noticed that the libero left with him and with  Noya  gone and Tanaka also dragged into thought, practice was extremely quiet. 

“Alright that’s all for now!”  Daichi’s  voice trembled through the emptiness.

Kageyama  walked to class as promised. It wasn’t so bad. It’s not like it annoyed  Hinata , just  kinda  weirded him out. The silence of practice had infected them and during their walk neither said a word. The setter patted his back gently before leaving. Was that? Was that affectionate?

Okay, things were getting serious  wackadoodle . A disease must be going around and  Hinata  hoped he wasn’t next.

“Morning , Yachi !” He called as he passed by the blond who yawned and dusted away sleepy tears from her eyes. “Not sleep?”

“No, I couldn’t rest at all” She slumped in her chair, unlike herself.

“What’s going on?” His question seemed to grasp her attention and she turned in her seat to face the boy.

“This whole Kiyoko thing. Did you know she has perfect attendance?”

“Whoa! Really? How do you manage that?”

“I don’t know… She’s gone today right? And left early  yesterday , and I remember her being gone maybe once or twice in the past but apparently she still has perfect attendance. Not that I don’t want her to have it but it confuses me.”

“Class is about to begin. Please return to your seats” Their teacher interrupted their conversation again.  At least he seemed to be in a better mood.

Hinata  didn't even bother with getting out his notebook today. He'll just ask to look at  Yachi's  later. That's what he usually does anyways. He taps his fingers against his desk with his cheek planted firmly into the palm of his other hand. Drool nearly pushing it's way past his lower lip as he stairs outside. Even the windows looked cold. Though it wasn't as bad as yesterday, the winds could've made a grown man cry. He wondered if the local gangs had any initiation ceremonies. Standing out in this cold in only underwear would be a good one. He could see a person being hardened into a ruthless killer like that.... literally..

"Oikawa's underlings have approached me"

Hinata's  ears perked up at the sound of a familiar voice. Classes had ended and  Kagyama  wasn't outside the room waiting to escort him to practice like he had been for the past few days so he went ahead and hurried to the gym thinking nothing of it. 

"What does he want?"

Kageyama  was talking to the captain on the other side of the club room door . Their words sounded tense and heavy.

"He wants the  Kageyama  family to merge with him again."

"You didn't..." That was  Suga's  soft voice trailing off!

"Of course not!"  Kageyama  sounded offended.  Hinata  flinched at the shout. The first-year quickly backtracked, "Sorry Sugawara".

"It's okay, everyone is on edge right now"

"So are we going to do something?  Daichi ?" Asahi was there too...

"I do not want  Hinata  involved!"  Kageyama  snapped again, except this time, he didn't apologize.

Daichi  spoke with a stern and calm voice in reply. "Calm down , Kageyama . None of us want to drag him into this."

Hinata's  teeth ground with bitter irritation. How could they possibly talk about him behind his back like that?! How could the leave him out?! The boy stomped up to the door  and pushed it open, a sour expression on his face.

"Drag me into what?"

The four teammates looked at him with wide eyes and pale faces. They were definitely not expecting him.

"D-dumbass! You're supposed to wait for me outside your  classroom!"

Asahi's eyes burst into tears and he trembled. He waved his hands in front of his face while uttering nonsense between  nerv ous  apologies.  Daichi  eventually smacked him upon the head to shut him up and  Kageyama  still hadn't moved, still struck with horror.

Suga  called out  Hinata's  name, if something could sound like was dripping with decadent honey, then it was when  Suga  said his name right then. " Hinata . "

The red-head looked to his senior. Something was a little off  in his sweet smile. It was like he was trying too hard. It wasn't natural.

"A rival volleyball team was just  har assing  us. nothing to worry about."

Hinata  knew the setter's explanation didn't add up according to the conversation and he's pretty sure that  Suga  knew he was aware of this as well. But his captain's burning gaze that demanded him to drop it kept him from asking questions.

However,  Hinata  still pouted his displeasure at being lied to.

"Let's move on with practice"

One by one they walked past the ginger,  Daichi  patted his shoulder  when  he walked by and Sugawara ruffled his hair. Asahi offered a sympathetic smile. When the  spiker  tried to speak to the taller setter,  Kageyama  cut him off with a shake of his head.

Hinata  followed them out, after changing,  and into the gym.He caught eye contact with Tsukishima. The blocker just shrugged at him as if he could read his confusion about his teammates and positioned himself on the court as  Daichi  clapped his hands together to assemble the team.

Practice was more vigorous today.  Daichi  worked them hard, he must be stressed.

" Hinata "

He looked up from stuffing his gym clothes into his bag.

"Let's go"

Oh, that's right.  Kageyama  has been walking with after practice too, everyday now.

Hinata  fussed with his coat pockets and belongings while they walked. His friend growled in irritation.

"What are you doing, D umbass?"

"I can't find my gloves. I think I forgot them at home"

Kagyama's  lips pressed together  noticeable . Ah, his thinking face.  Hinata  patiently waited for him to speak.

"Here" He slipped off his left glove and slipped it onto  Hinata's  smaller hand. It was a little big but considerably warmer than being without it.

"But what about-"

The setter clasped his bare hand with his own and shoved them in his coat pocket.  H inata  flushed and normally would have made a scene in his embarrassment but the pocket was lined with a soft fabric, faux fur maybe, and it felt nice on his skin.

"...thanks"

"no problem"

When they had to part ways they couldn't look each other in the eye.  Kageyama  hand him his other glove with a demand that he return it in one piece the next day. Along with a "Don't forget your gloves next time, idiot!"

The dark-haired boy followed that up with a "be safe on your way home".

"Yeah, okay.."

And with that  Hinata  got on his bike and sped off home to his family.  Natsu  was waiting excitedly at the door for her big brother with a macaroni drawing of their family which made  Hinata  wonder if he should've told  Kageyama  to be safe too...


	3. Bring Out the Crayons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “For the last time, Kuuro. The answer is no. We can’t act so quickly without any idea what’s going on.” Hinata couldn’t help but flinch at the familiar name. What would the Nekoma captain have to do with anything? It didn’t sound like they were setting up any kind of practice match. More people were involved than he had previously thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there!  
> This chapter feels kinda rushed to me? I'm not sure if it feels like that for you guys but I hope you like it.  
> My time has been quite hectic lately and so I guess it is rushed because I wanted to get something up before I start  
> college on Monday and my life gets even crazier.  
> Enjoy!

Hinata took his time the next morning. It was the weekend and the didn’t have practice as early as usual. He stretched his arms above his head when getting out of bed, reveling in the feeling of the tug at his muscles. He took a moment to asses himself in the mirror. He made an accomplished smile at what he saw. His muscles have gotten more toned over his time at Karasuno particularly in his upper body from vigorous receive practice.

There was also bruises here and there leaving behind evidence of hard work. It was the equivalent of an artist taking a step back to study their painting. Noting the motion of the brush strokes, the different dabs of color. They both thought of where they had been and how far they’ve come. From rough pencil sketches of flowers to full out oil painted landscapes of the growth covered mountainsides. From first picking up the volleyball to controlling it with a single motion.

He reached into his closet pulling out a teal T-shirt that didn’t quite swallow him like his other shirts. This actually fit him decently in the shoulders. In the center of it was a smiling sun.

Outside everything was gloomy and cold. It seemed the world was dressed in only pale cool colors of blue and purple mixed in with grey and white and it had been that way for a while now.

Shouyou needed some color. Spring was his favorite season after all.

Sliding on some red shorts and his yellow sneakers and paced himself down the stairs. Too bad it was too cold to go outside with out a jacket so he had to put on his black jersey. Natsu was already planted in front of the television singing along with the catchy openings to her favorite cartoons. He stopped to watch her with a smile.

“Hinata. Breakfast.” His mother called to him as she placed a full plate on the table.

“Thank you” He hoisted himself into the dining room chair and salivated. Eggs, bacon, toast, what more could he have asked for? He scarfed it down whole-heartedly. “Soooo gooood!!”

His mother chuckled and took his plate. “Thank you Hinata. Don’t you have practice today?”

The ginger hummed a yes as he quickly sucked down his apple juice.

“Niichan! Niichan! Can I fill up your waterbottle?” Natsu had heard his confirmation and patted over towards the kitchen.

He patted her soft curls. “Sure. C’mon” She followed him back upstairs holding onto the hem of his shirt along the way. In his room he knelt over his bag before pulling out his orange bottle and handing it over to his little sister.

“Thank you”

“You’re welcome!” She hurriedly ran downstairs and Hinata heard his mother scold her to be more careful. Lately, Natsu has been going through a helpful phase. She wanted to be involved in everything she could which wasn’t always a bad thing so Hinata encouraged her. But her wanting to help cut the veggies for curry the other night had ended poorly. Of course Mrs.Hinata refused and the small girl began to wail in protest. She had yet to learn she couldn’t assist in everything.

Hinata checked that he had everything for practice, supporters, towel, power bar, spare change of clothes… “Shoes!” Hinata retrieved his Volleyball shoes from the bottom of his closet and slipped them into his bag. It would’ve been bad if he forgot those. The sole had grown worn and thin and the the shoes themselves were quite flimsy. Perhaps it was time for a new pair.

He plopped on the edge of his bed and bounced a bit off the mattress as he did so. He wondered if practice was going to be weird again. He really hoped it wouldn’t, it was a nice day out it looked like, the sun was even out even if it was still chilly and there wasn’t hardly any wind. It would be a shame to muddy the day with awkward behavior and obvious secrets. It was also the weekend. This was his break and having others ruin it would really be disappointing for him.

“Niichan!” Natsu came back upstairs, full water bottle in hand.

“Thank you, Natsu” He took it from her and checked that it was closed tight before placing it in his bag.

“The scary boy is waiting for you outside” She said shifting from foot to foot.

“Really? Kageyama is here already? Well I guess I’ll be off then” She nodded and ran back down to her cartoons.

Hinata swiped his phone off his nightstand, a call and two texts. “I should pay more attention to this”

He slung his bag over his shoulders and made his way downstairs. “I’m leaving!”

“Have fun! Be safe” His mom called after him.

The door closed with a click and Hinata ran up to the tall setter at his gate. “Hey!”

“Do you ever check your phone?”

“Sorry, sorry!”

Kageyama grunts and acknowledgment to his apology.

“Niichan!” Natsu’s whine carried from the doorway. She ran over to her brother and her face quickly showed regret for every stepping out of the warm house. She was still in her pjs afterall.

 Three gloves were in her hands, two lavender, a set, and a single larger red glove.

“Oh! Thank you Natsu hurry back inside before you get cold”

She just shivered in response and ran as quickly as she could back into the house.

“This one is yours” Hinata handed the other the single red glove.

He looked at the glove and took it silently slipping it into his pocket. “Ready?”

“Ossu”

The walk to the gym was quiet. Not many people were out and about, Hinata supposed it made sense. It was cold Saturday morning. Who would even want to be out?

“My house is really out of your way. I could’ve met you when closer”

“I wanted to come”

“Why?”

“Because you’re a dumbass”

“What? How does that explain anything?” Hinata shot him a sour look.

Kageyama just remained silent. Hinata sighed.

After the long trek he stopped at the school grounds entrance. The gym was in sight and Sugawara was greeting the team as they slipped inside.

“Hinata”

“What’s up”

“Its dangerous lately, okay? The gangs you heard about, they’re getting more and more aggressive. Something’s going on and just... you need to be safe.”

“So that’s why everyone has been acting weird?”

Kageyama flinched as if expecting the ginger not to have noticed. “Ah well that could be part of it”

“What’s going on Kageyama?”

“Nothing. Just stay close. Don’t let your guard down and you’ll be fine.” He carried on to the gym.

“B-but Kageyama!” He shouted after his friend and was ignored. “The nerve of him… Something is going on and I’m going to find out, dammit!” He stomped his way over to practice.

“Shouyou!” Nishinoya clapped the freshman across the back as he entered.

“Noya-sempai!”

“Let’s work on those receive for a little while, yeah?”

Hinata grimaced he’d much rather practice his spikes with Kageyama but when he looked over he was already tossing to Tanaka. “Yeah, sure!” Though Nishinoya was enjoyable company so his disappointment didn’t last long. Pretty soon he was gawking at the older boy’s flashy defense moves.

That was until a loud jingle echoed in the gym bouncing off the walls and grabbing everyone’s attention. Hinata recognized the song that played. Wait was that- was that Bad Blood?

Asahi sprinted away from spike practice and ran towards his duffel bag. I took him a while to find his phone amidst his things and you could clearly see as each second passed the more unraveled the man became. When he did find it the catchy ringtone ended with a swipe of the screen. Somehow Asahi being a Taylor Swift fan seemed rather fitting.

“Ah hello?” He answered nervously, still embarrassed for disrupting practice. He was stiff and stood tall but his face went slack in response to whomever was on the line.

“Daichi, its for you.”

The captain furrowed his brow at the ace but calmly took the phone from him. “Hello?”

He frowned after his greeting. “So I refuse to give you my number and you harass Asahi so you can contact me?”

Hinata tried his best not to look like he was obviously eavesdropping. He wasn’t doing a very good job because when he looked at Nishinoya had a reprimanding look on his face, complete with hands resting on his hips. However, the libero didn’t do anything, only gave him a knowing look before turning his attention elsewhere. Wonder why…

“Well I suppose you’re right. We should keep in touch these days.”

“No we haven’t had any trouble- well Seijou came snooping around.”

“Yeah, him.”

“Wanted some old family back. They’re looking into growing. They are growing.”

Daichi cupped his hand around the phone trying dissuade being over heard. That wouldn’t stop Hinata. The rest of his team mates had already moved along with practice. Nishinoya had moved over to Asahi and was talking softly to the giant. Nishinoya being quiet? Now that would throw anyone for a loop.

“Didn’t I already tell you no to that? Why? Because its reckless.”

“For the last time, Kuuro. The answer is no. We can’t act so quickly without any idea what’s going on” Hinata couldn’t help but flinch at the familiar name. What would the Nekoma captain have to do with anything? It didn’t sound like they were setting up any kind of practice match. More people were involved than he had previously thought.

“You’re endangering your family.”

“Okay, fine, whatever. Do what you want but we’re not getting involved. Not yet.”

“Yes, I’ll keep an eye out. You be safe too” He cursed as he hung up tossing the smartphone back to its owner. Asahi just barely missed dropping. Or rather he did, it was just saved by a nimble Nishinoya who only grinned broadly at his accomplishment.

“Daichi?” He turned to see an ash blond setter looking at him with concern.

“Its okay. We’ll all be okay.” He rested a large hand on Suga’s shoulder and slid it down his arm to grasp his hand in reassurance. Sugawara shied away at his touch. It was a known fact that the two were together. One minute after meeting the two and the whole team had a pretty good idea. Even thought they were a couple it was rare of them to show affection for each other publicly. It just wasn’t in their nature. Daichi had certainly made the gesture unthinkingly and it made Sugawara’s cheeks a vibrant shade of pink.

Nishinoya and Tanaka cooed at the display, nearly falling over each other so they could harass the two.

“Oh would you give it a rest!” The captain, exasperated, picked up a volleyball from the bench and threw it at the second years. They moved out of the way in a fit of snickers and giggles. Hinata couldn’t help himself but chuckle too.

He noticed Kageyama staring at the captain with a pleading look in his eyes. Begging for his senior to tell him what the conversation was about. He was ignored by both the setter and captain. They could easily tell the first year was staring them down but now wasn’t the time or place to go over the details of what just took place.

“That Kuuro always stirring up trouble” Daichi laughed lightly while rubbing the back of his neck to the team.

The team just nodded and continued with practice. Tuskishima never paid him any attention the whole time.

Practice carried on smoothly after that and soon they all fell into the regular rhythm of things. Hinata perked up listening to the squeak of sneakers on hard wood floors like a mantra. Fittingly so, this place would be where he found his peace regularly. Even if it had been disturbed for the past week. They switched off between spike, block, serve and receive practices followed by the team splitting in half and having a mock game. Nishinoya was keen on practicing his own tosses during the game and the synchronized attack was repeated to almost perfection. Even Kageyama was starting to have trouble guessing who would spike next.

“That was excellent work today everyone, how about we head over to Coach Ukai’s for some lunch on me?”

The team shouted joyously.

“But first, clean up.”

The team groaned in unison as well.

If there was a better moment to describe the job of a team captain than the interaction that just took place, Daichi didn’t know what it was.

Suga later leaned over to whisper in the captain’s ear. “I’ll help out”

“Thanks” He grinned.

They herded the group through the metal doors and slid the close with screech. It was really an awful sound. One Daichi was given the privilege of listening to everyday during lock up.

The rag tag group was lively as they walked down the road. Hinata and Kageyama were heard arguing as per usual. The spiker was currently protesting an escort back home and the setter was having none of it. Nishinoya and Tanaka were in a heated discussion about which ice cream flavor was clearly the best while Asahi walked behind them with an amused smile, simply enjoying the debate. His calm was broken quickly when Nishinoya asked him for support of his favorite flavor. Ennoshita was engaged with Sugawara and Diachi also offering to help pay for the team’s eating expenses at the store and opening up the gym on Monday morning.

However lively they may have been they all were forced to a sudden stop when they saw the convenient store they frequented. Coach Ukai was out in the road with a broom sweeping up broken glass when he noticed the boys. “Oh uh sorry, no meatbuns today kids.” This was probably why he told Daichi to lead practice on his own today.

The shop had been demolished. Windows were completely shattered and the outside was marked up with fuchsia colored spray paint with the single word “Ours”. The inside was trashed and items were undoubtedly stolen. Someone knew. Someone knew exactly what store they were trashing and they were making a claim.

“Are you okay, Coach?” Ennoshita approached Ukai.

“Yeah I’m fine, mother got quite the scare and I sent her home. Oi, some bastards huh?” He inhaled his cigarette and looked back over his pitiful shop.

The team silently agreed. Some were still in shock, some were in a rage, namely Tanaka. Hinata glanced over at Kageyama as if asking if it was safe to assumed this was gang work. The dark headed boy nodded at him with stern eyes. The attack was just proving him right and it made the smaller frown. Looks like he wouldn’t be walking home alone again.

Daichi growled and Suga leaned in close. “They’re trying to force our hand”

“We need to talk to Shimizu asap” He replied hushed.

The captain gathered the boys to help their coach clean up the shop. Though they probably would have anyways. Ukai passed out a few gloves for some to pick up glass. Hinata followed around some of his teammates with trash bags. Asahi lifted the heavy stuff with Daichi. Yamaguchi and Sugawara made an attempt to scrub off the offending paint. The walls were still stained slightly pink in the end. It took until the late evening. Tsukishima had conveniently disappeared.

“Thank you, boys.” Ukai passed out what was leftover of the drinks in the store. At first they refused but the coach wouldn’t take no for an answer. “We still have the farm, we’ll be okay. Now take ‘em before I beat ya with ‘em.”

Sawamura pulled Ennoshita, Kinoshita and Narita to the side as everyone else was saying their goodbyes.

“We’ll tell her Daichi, don’t worry”

“Thank you”

After the shock of seeing their favorite store in shambles Hinata couldn’t argue against Kageyama walking him home anymore. He did have a condition though, the sun was setting during their walk, it wouldn’t be long before it got dark so the setter would have to stay over. “Because if its too dangerous for me to be wandering alone then its too dangerous for you too! Besides it’s the weekend, its not a big deal if you stay for the night.”

Mrs.Hinata was delighted to have one of her son’s friends over for dinner, she had been preparing a pot roast all day and she wasn’t sure the three of them could finish it on their own. And the smell was just taking over the kitchen. “Oh my! You’re so tall, well just look at you!” She touched her fingertips to her her face when she saw him. She heard about Kageyama plenty from her son but she never was able to meet him properly.

“Thank you” Kageyama was rather polite to adults, and pretty much everyone except Hinata. The smaller boy picked up on the rather quickly. If he brought it up to the setter though he knows that they would get into another tussle.

“If we had someone like you around the house maybe we could make use of those upper cabinets” Her laugh was soft but definitely full of life. Much like Hinata, but maybe not nearly as loud at times.

Kageyama gave an undignified snort at the comment. Especially after seeing the sour look on Hinata’s face and a whined complaint of “Mom! I’m still growing!” But from what Kageyama could tell the whole family was rather lacking height and he doubted Hinata would get hardly any bigger than he already was.

Dinner was heavenly. They hadn’t had their usual snack after practice and even stayed out way longer than they expected to. The roast successfully tamed the growling in their bellies as they hurriedly ate the meal. The reveled in the tender meat that just fell apart perfect and the juices that surround it and soaked into the potatoes and carrots. Kageyama pondered coming over for dinner more often. His mom really wasn’t the cooking type and neither was his father if he was home.

“Kageyama? Would you like the bath first?”

“You can go” The taller teen had spread himself across Hinata’s bed and was staring at the ceiling thoughtfully.

“Kaaay” Hinata yawned. “Futon is under the bed”

He dragged his feet down the hall into the small bathroom. The tile beneath him was cold and sent a shiver up his spine and prompted a strong desire to get under the shower spray. He shucked off his clothes and neatly placed his clean ones next to his towel. When Hinata bathed or showered he like it scalding hot. He wanted his skin to be bright red when when he left. The mirror would be fogged and they would have to leave the door open for a while because the little fan in the ceiling just wasn’t cutting it. He sighed and arched back as the warm water decorated his back. This was good. He need this. He thought of the past few days as he scrubbed off the grime from his body.

It was starting to become clear to the ginger that whatever was going on was very serious. And it seemed everyone was involved a little bit besides him and Yachi. He chewed at the inside of his cheek thoughtfully with fingers creating bubbles in his hair. Poor Yachi, she had been really on edge ever since Kiyoko had stopped coming to practice and school. She was also working harder for the club now that there wasn’t a second body to take the work load. It was easy to tell the blond was worried and who she was thinking about during class. Hinata had caught her several times just looking out the window during a lecture instead of taking notes. She must really miss the other girl. Hinata yawned again.

When it started to become increasingly more difficult to keep his eyes open he decided it was time to head to bed. Wouldn’t want to fall asleep in the bathroom, uncomfortable and embarrassing.

He returned to his friend who completely passed out on his bed and the futon was no where to be seen. Well crud. Hinata was too tired for this and didn’t have it in him to set up the futon and get Kageyama in it. So he settles with curling up next to the taller boy. There was enough room anyways.

He might regret this in the morning but at the moment he was too sleepy to care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Other links you can find me at!
> 
> Tumblr:  
> furystarcat (art blog)  
> furyreblogs (personal blog)  
> furycosplays (cosplay blog)
> 
> Deviantart:  
> furystarcat
> 
> Youtube:  
> furystar12 (art and misc.)  
> furycosplays (cosplay)
> 
> otherhalf.smackjeeves.com
> 
> \-----
> 
> I would love to thank my Beta readers, TheMistressAnime and AmericanPrince-AmericanRoyalty!!  
> (tumblr urls)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading and I hope you continue to read the upcoming chapters!
> 
> Writing and Art:  
> furystarcat  
> -Art Blog: furystarcat.tumblr.com  
> -Personal Blog: furyreblogs.tumblr.com  
> -Cosplay Blog: furycosplays.tumblr.com
> 
> Editors, Beta Readers and Idea Throwers:  
> -artsynirvana.tumblr.com  
> -themistressanime.tumblr.com  
> -pineapplefairyprincess.tumblr.com
> 
> Best of Wishes,  
> Fury


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